Since having a social media account is as normal as having a smartphone, everyone has one (PARENTS: be mindful that your children may have one that you’re unaware of).

There’s something that has always rubbed me the wrong way about social media posts, and that’s authenticity.

Like the girl that shows her toned stomach in every post projecting a narcissistic life of ease and opulence.

Or the person who rides in private jets (which makes me laugh in and of itself because the very name of the method of travel is “private”. So why would someone post, if their objective is to travel in privacy…just saying).

I grew up watching the slick street peddlers con people out of their money from a game called 3 Card Monte. The game was rigged of course (the house always wins). See, the hand is quicker than the eye and so the dealer knew what he was doing all along. He would entice you with an early victory, and once you started winning, he gotcha because he knew greed would kick in. That’s how I feel about social media post. The lure of attention and validation are the “likes” and “follows”, the greed encourages more post for more “likes”, the game is the shallow and empty affirmation that unbeknownst, feeds our subconscious, the peddlers are the social media apps and the loss is your self-esteem, if you’re not careful.

Keep this in mind: yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future and today is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present! Don’t get so consumed by social media that you miss the blessings right in front of you; like family, real-life friends, and the sunrise/sunset. I give you permission to “like” things other than a post.